After the War
by phoenixstrike
Summary: HP/DM. In the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts, two young men seek comfort in one another. One of those "Harry and Draco get close after the BoH" fics. We all need to do one at least once. DH compliant/ EWE. M for language and sexual content


**Disclaimer: **_Harry Potter and all its associates are copyrighted. I own none of this copyright. This is a fanfiction and I am not profiting, financially or in any other way, from it. _

**A/N:** This is a slash fic between Harry and Draco. M rated for language and explicit sexual content. It's set immediately after the Battle of Hogwarts and follows canon events from Deathly Hallows.

**After the War**

Harry stared out of the window from Gryffindor Tower, watching the celebrations below. The cheering, the fireworks, the music, had been continuous now for twenty four hours. The almost carnival atmosphere of the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade was juxtaposed with a Gryffindor Tower filled with sorrow and grief. Andromeda Tonks was cradling Teddy, barely a month old and an orphan. She was not crying, but sat, deathly white, staring at nothing, Teddy clutched tightly to her chest.

Besides her sat Molly Weasley, who was sobbing into Arthur's arms. Two mothers united in the utter devastation of losing their child. No parent should outlive their children. Harry looked around the common room once more, and found Hermione and Ron. Finally together, combined by grief. Harry did not want to impose on an obviously private moment. His eyes searched out George. George was practically catatonic; Madam Pomfrey had been administering the strongest possibly calming draughts available to her in an attempt to calm and relax the distraught man but Harry knew no amount of potion was going to help. George had been irrevocably destroyed.

Next, Harry's eyes came to rest on Ginny, who was curled up asleep in Bill's lap, tear tracks staining her freckled cheeks. Ginny, the girl he had loved, and envisioned marrying. With her fiery hair matching her fiery spirit, a passion and determination so strong, Harry at one point could see himself wanting no other. Now all he could see was a young girl lost in grief, and Harry realised he felt nothing but overwhelming brotherly protectiveness for her. It was a conversation they would need to have. That was not for today, however.

He suddenly felt extremely alone. Harry needed to get out of the Tower before he broke down. There would be time for private grief, but this wasn't it. He often wondered if he had a lockbox inside his mind, a place where he stored emotions under lock and key filed under the heading of Crap to Deal With Later. Losing Sirius, losing Dumbledore. He had never really dealt with either. Now he had so many more names to add to this. Harry vaguely wondered whether he could get some help learning to deal with grief.

He took out the Marauders' Map and scanned it, looking for somewhere he could be on his own, somewhere that there were no other names. He spotted the Astronomy Tower, and with a jolt saw the name Draco Malfoy pacing. Making a sudden decision, Harry felt his pockets, checked for the wands and headed to meet him.

Draco was sitting on the floor hugging his knees close to his chest when Harry arrived. He looked up when he heard Harry enter and impatiently swiped his eyes with the back of his hand, glaring at Harry as if to say, 'you mention this, I'll kill you where Voldemort failed'.

"What do you want, Potter?" he asked. His voice didn't have its usual arrogance to it though. Harry thought it sounded as if it came from a man thoroughly defeated.

"I, er, saw you on this map I have, and I wanted to give you back this." Harry held out the hawthorn wand to the blond, and saw his eyebrows arch in surprise. Clearly Malfoy wasn't expecting to receive this.

"You sure you don't want to keep it as a souvenir, Potter? The Boy Who Stole, parading my wand around like some precious trophy whilst everyone hero worships you at your feet? It probably won't even answer to me anymore, so why bother giving it back?"

Harry winced slightly, but stubbornly continued to hold the wand out for Draco to take. Wordlessly Draco reached out, took the wand and slipped it into his pocket. Silence fell between the two.

"Was there anything else? Only surely you have some parties to attend? Interviews to give? Marriage proposals to reply to? All that sort of bollocks?"

"I wanted to say thank you," Harry replied evenly, ignoring the other boy's insults. "For what you did in March at your home. You could have sold us out to Voldemort but you didn't. Then I took your wand. That wand saved my life- it probably saved us all. Draco, there is no doubt that without you we would have lost this war. I will always be grateful for what you did."

Draco's mouth opened in surprise, a faint flush of colour filling his pallid cheeks. Then, he said in almost a whisper, "I wanted you to win." Draco turned his face and stared back out of the Tower, looking straight down at the grounds below. He shuddered involuntarily.

"Do you think Dumbledore suffered pain?" he asked. Harry didn't need to ask what Draco was alluding to.

"No. The Killing Curse is very quick. It felt like a punch to the guts for me, but that's probably only 'cause I survived it. Again. I think for everyone else it's an instant, painless death," Harry replied, and lifted his t-shirt to reveal a small bruise where the Killing Curse had struck. Draco stared at Harry's abdomen and gave another shudder at the mention of the second Avada Kedavra Harry had taken just the day before.

"This is the first time I've come up here since… since that night," Draco said. "I just couldn't face it. I've hated myself so much the last two years. I've really messed up.

"I was so terrified of him you know," Draco continued. "My parents- he was going to kill them if I didn't kill Dumbledore. But I couldn't do it, I had him alone and Disarmed and I couldn't do it. I was weak."

"Draco, you're not weak. You're just not a killer. And I know you were terrified. I… I was here on the Tower with Dumbledore that night."

Harry didn't think Draco could become any paler, but somehow he did, losing all traces of the pink he'd gained just moments before. There was silence again for a minute, before Draco whispered, more to himself than anyone, "Two broomsticks."

"I was under my cloak and he Petrified me. I couldn't help. But I heard everything Draco, and more importantly, I _saw_ you lower your wand. And that is what I will be telling the Wizengamot. I won't let you go to Azkaban for defending your family." At these words Draco's tears began to fall freely and he began to sob. Harry crouched down next to him and instinctively put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Draco glanced at it but made no attempt to shake it off. The two boys sat together for many minutes whilst Draco calmed down.

"Shouldn't I be comforting you? It was Professor Lupin you lost wasn't it? Wasn't he sort of like a father figure to you?" Draco asked shakily, wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his robes. Harry nodded.

"And we lost Fred Weasley, Ron's brother. I-I was very close to him. And your cousin, Andromeda's daughter, Tonks. I'm godfather to hers and Remus' son. He's still a new born baby and will never know his parents. I will deeply miss them. I will miss everyone who died last night. Even Snape," he added as an afterthought and gave a small chuckle, aware that tears of his own were now falling down his face. He made no attempt to remove them or hide them from Malfoy.

"Thank you for saving me last night. From the Fiendfyre. Most people would have let me die. They would have seen it as justice, one less Death Eater. Weasley would have, wouldn't he?" Harry reluctantly nodded in agreement. "But not you. Even someone who was a complete bastard to you for years is worth saving to Harry bloody Potter," Draco said. Harry looked him the eye.

"Yes, everyone is worth saving. But that's not why I saved you. I saved you because you saved me. I saved you because you may be arrogant, and conceited, and sometimes behave like a really senseless prick, but you're not evil. You deserved to live, to have another chance. It would have made me miserable to have let you die when I could have saved your life. I… I wanted you to survive."

Another moment of silence. It was feeling less uncomfortable. Then, "I am sorry I couldn't save Crabbe."

"Crabbe was an idiot. He very nearly killed us all. It's his own fault he's dead," said Draco bluntly. Harry noticed his hand was still gripping Draco's shoulder. He wasn't particularly upset that Crabbe had perished in the fire his own wand had created, but, still, it was a terrible way to die. Suddenly Harry realised Malfoy was here at Hogwarts alone.

"Where are your parents?" he asked. Draco turned to face him.

"Well, Mother Apparated back to the Manor as soon as she could this morning. And Father, unsurprisingly, was carted off to the Ministry by Aurors to face charges of being a Death Eater." Harry nodded.

"Look, do you want to get out of here? Hogwarts I mean? We could go to mine?" Harry suggested. "Although Merlin knows what state it's in. I've not been there since beginning of September and Kreacher, that's my house-elf, has been working here since I went on the Horcrux hunt. But there are no journalists, no Aurors, no loud drunken people yelling and celebrating. What do you say?"

Draco looked at him appraisingly. "Why are you being so reasonable to me, Potter?" he asked. Harry gave a grim smile.

"The truth? 'Cause to be honest I'm close to falling apart from so many conflicting emotions and I feel completely bloody alone right now and ironically enough I think you're about the only other person who understand how the fuck I'm feeling because you feel exactly the same. 'Cause I've done so much fighting I don't have the strength or inclination to fight with you any longer. We've both been through too much now to be at each other's throats anymore. A schoolboy rivalry is just something I cannot be bothered with and it seems completely insignificant. Because you really look like you could do with someone at the moment. So, do you want to leave? We can sneak out under my cloak."

* * *

><p>"How are we going to sneak past the Aurors?" Draco asked quietly as they approached the gates leading out of the grounds. Harry looked to where Draco was pointing and cursed under his breath. They weren't banned from leaving the Hogwarts grounds but Harry really didn't want to be found trying to leave the castle with Draco Malfoy, known Death Eater. He thought that one would be difficult to explain.<p>

"We'll be fine," Harry whispered, "as long as we don't make any…"

CRACK

"Fuck," Harry and Draco whispered together, as the Auror whipped round and pointed his wand in the direction the noise had just come from. Harry cursed under his breath and flung out an arm to stop Draco tripping over the fallen tree branch he'd trodden on.

"Who is there?" demanded the Auror. Harry sighed, and signalled for Draco to remain still and hidden. He lifted the cloak carefully off his own head.

"Hi. Erm, it's me. I didn't want any fuss or anything but I need to get out for a bit. Could you not mention you've seen me? That would be great." The Auror's reaction to seeing Harry Potter was predictable.

"Oh! Mr Potter! Yes, of course, sir! Anything! Anything at all, for you!" Harry rolled his eyes at the Auror's words. "I… have a pleasant time!"

"Thanks," Harry replied and placed the cloak back over his head. He gave Draco a 'you dare laugh and I'll kill you' glare. Then he and Draco walked quickly out of the grounds.

"I'll need to take you on side-along," Harry said. "My house is under the Fidelius, but Apparating you inside the wards is enough to let you in." He allowed Draco to take his arm, then twisted on the spot, leaving Hogwarts behind them.

* * *

><p>Harry opened the door.<p>

"Right. Few things I forgot to mention. There's a mad old woman in a painting who will yell if you're not quiet in the hallway- although come to think of it she'll probably love you-, and there is a curse that Moody put up after Dumbledore died- it's unpleasant but doesn't hurt, just stand still."

Draco was just about to ask what Harry meant exactly by 'unpleasant' when he felt his tongue curling into the back of his throat, then turned deathly white when he saw the shape of Dumbledore ask, 'Severus Snape?' before exploding. Harry winced at these. "Sorry, like I said, it's been months since I was here, I forgot these." He led them into the sitting room. Suddenly Draco realised where he was.

"Potter, this is _your_ house? How the bloody fuck did you get it? I came here when I was about five, my mother's aunt Walburga lived here. It's a Black property isn't it?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, it was Sirius Black's house. He was my godfather- well, you probably knew that already- but when he died he left the house to me. But as you can see I've not exactly had much time for interior design in the last two years." He pulled out his wand and began siphoning off the worst of the dust from the sofas before sitting down. Suddenly he called, "Kreacher!"

With a loud _crack _the elf apparated into the living room.

"Master Harry! And you have brought the Malfoy heir with you! Will Master Harry be staying here?" Kreacher asked.

"Maybe, for a bit. Look, Kreacher, I need you to give a note to Ron and Hermione explaining where I am. Say nothing about who I am with please. And then I need you to prepare some food for us, and my bedroom and a guest room for Draco. But Draco and I have a lot to discuss so please don't disturb us unless I call for you. Thank you." Harry hastily scribbled a note to his friends, explaining where he was, and that he was safe, but just needed to be alone for a time, and handed the note to Kreacher. The elf bowed and, with another _crack,_ Disapparated. Draco slumped into the sofa next to Harry. Suddenly they both felt a bit awkward.

"Um, I'd offer you tea or coffee, but there probably isn't any. There's water if you're thirsty?" Draco shook his head in refusal. Another silence followed.

"So, let's discuss you getting hit with the Killing Curse again." It was Draco who broke the silence this time. "My mother said you took it willingly. That you walked up to him and took it, and didn't try to defend yourself at all. But you knew it was going to happen. Why in the name of Merlin did you do that?"

Harry bit back the tears that threatened to fall as he remembered his mother, and his father, plus Sirius and Remus, and how he was convinced they were coming to take him into the next life with them.

"You know about the Horcruxes. I explained that in the Great Hall last night. But what you don't know is I found out just before I went to meet him in the Forest that the night he tried to kill me when I was a baby he managed to put another bit of his soul in me. I was effectively another Horcrux, and whilst it remained in me it was tethering that bastard to life. He couldn't die. It was a choice between letting him kill me, and letting him win. I really thought I was going to die, but it was worth it, if it meant he could finally be defeated for good." Harry lost his battle with the tears and they began pouring silently down his cheeks. Draco stared at him with a look Harry couldn't read.

"So you meant to die," he said quietly. "You walked into that forest, knowing what he was going to do. You thought you were walking to your death, it wasn't some plan that you had and you knew you'd somehow survive it." Harry nodded his head in agreement. "You deliberately didn't defend yourself because you thought you needed to die to save us all. How the fucking hell did you ever find the strength to do that, Harry? You stupid, brave, noble, self-sacrificing Gryffindor wanker!" Then he lunged forwards towards Harry, knocking him backwards into the sofa before climbing on top of him.

For a mad split second Harry thought Draco was going to hit him, but then he felt Draco pin him with his hands, lips furiously crushing his own, and he parted his mouth in surprise and felt the blond's tongue slip in. Harry allowed himself a moment's confusion and protest before deciding that _oh fuck it all, _he was just going to do something that felt good for once, something that didn't have to be planned, something spontaneous that felt amazing, and he began to return the kiss just as furiously. So what if this was Draco Malfoy, arch- enemy and male? He could save the self-interrogation about his own sanity for later; all that mattered right now was giving in to the sensations and just _feeling_- he was becoming increasingly turned on and judging by a hardness digging into his hip, Draco was too. Harry broke the kiss and looked into Draco's eyes, the usual grey replaced with warm, sparkling molten silver. Both boys were flushed and breathing hard.

"Shall we go to your room?" Draco murmured into his ear. His brain suddenly caught up with the situation and Harry dazedly nodded, removing himself from the sofa and, not wanting to use Sirius' old room or the room he and Ron had shared in the past, led Draco up the two flights of stairs to the double guest room.

Harry suddenly felt incredibly nervous. He closed the door to the bedroom behind him, and turned to face Draco. He had no idea what to say. Draco strode quickly towards him, capturing his lips once more in a spine-tingling kiss which threatened to turn Harry's legs to jelly. Harry gasped into Draco's mouth, then was aware of Draco walking him backwards, until the back of his knees hit the bed and he half-sat, half-fell onto the mattress, Draco lying on top of him.

It was in this moment that Harry began to wonder if it was indeed men he preferred. The strong, hard muscular body, the smell of Draco's skin, the similar sized bodies battling for dominance rather than a soft female one complying, and those deep, throaty noises coming from Draco were certainly having the desired effect on Harry. He continued to kiss Draco with passion, and then felt Draco's hands working the belt of his jeans. Harry suddenly panicked and broke the kiss.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked tentatively. Harry nodded.

"Yes, it's just, I've never…I mean, I've not… not anything, with anyone, not just with another bloke, and I don't know what to do," Harry replied, feeling his cheeks burning. He felt a bit like an idiot, and expected Draco to mock him or at least sneer, but he was in for a surprise.

"That's fine, we'll go slowly. Work on what you feel, rather than what you're thinking. I promise this will be good, Harry," he replied, and as he began to suck on Harry's neck whilst removing his own robes Harry wondered if he saw stars. He removed his jeans then broke the kiss to remove his t shirt. He tried to pull Draco's top over his head but Draco refused, forcing the garment back down. Harry twigged the reason for the refusal straight away.

"Draco," he said gently, "I know it's there. It's over. Voldemort has gone and he's never coming back. Don't let him still control you."

Draco paused for another moment before shrugging out of the shirt. Harry gasped. The Mark barely even registered with him; Harry was confronted with a taut, pale, muscular chest that was gleaming in tint bead of sweat. It took all Harry's control not to run his tongue over the skin.

"Merlin, you're beautiful," he exclaimed before he could stop himself, then bit his lip. Sometimes he'd like better control over his voice. However if there was one thing that Draco Malfoy seemed to like, it was receiving compliments about himself. A small flush of pleasure crossed his face. He smirked suggestively and climbed under the blankets then tossed his underwear unceremoniously onto an armchair.

_This is it,_ Harry told himself. _Last chance to back out_. He knew that once he got into the bed then the last remaining shards of his self-control would be lost. He also knew he wasn't going to be going anywhere. He climbed into bed with Draco, put his glasses on the bedside table and removed his boxers.

He had a small moment to feel self-conscious before Draco once more captured his lips in a kiss. This one was different though; it was still passionate and as sexy as anything, but it was slower, tender and… _loving_. Both boys made sighs, and moans, and little groans, then suddenly Draco's hand slipped lower, brushing against Harry's chest, then his stomach, lower still, until…

"Oh, god," he whispered into Draco's neck as Draco's hands grasped him firmly and began to move. Harry felt the pleasure build, and it was coming far too quickly for his liking. Summoning all his Gryffindor courage he reached down between Draco's legs and mimicked the blond's actions, trying to focus on Draco rather than on what was being done to him because he was far too close to losing it already. Unfortunately he found that what he was doing to Draco, and the response Draco was giving, was just as arousing as what Draco was doing to him. He was dangerously close to the edge already when-

"Touch me now," Draco whimpered. Harry didn't understand, he thought he _was _touching him, but then Draco's hand left Harry's erection, and found Harry's wrist, guiding him past his own erection until Harry knew what he meant. Harry had to swallow to control his nerves. Draco whispered a wandless lubrication charm on himself, and guided one of Harry's fingers gently inside him.

Instinct seemed to take over for Harry. He began gently thrusting with the digit, before inserting a second one. Draco was sighing and moaning quietly below him. Then all of a sudden his fingers caressed over a small lump of tissue and Draco cried out, begging Harry to hit the spot again.

"What is that?" Harry asked

"Prostate," Draco replied breathlessly. "And please, fucking do it again."

Harry did. Over and over again he massaged the small spot which had Draco shouting profanities and Harry wondered if it was possible for him to come from just what he was doing to Draco alone without being touched.

"Ready," Draco whispered. "I need you in me, Harry." Harry withdrew his fingers and found he was trembling. From nerves, arousal, anticipation or a combination of all three he didn't know. He came up between Draco's legs and Draco placed them on his shoulders.

"Are you sure about this?" Harry asked. Draco nodded.

"You won't hurt me. But only do this if you are sure," he replied. Oh, Harry was sure. He leant forwards and kissed Draco, solidly, as the tip of his erection breached Draco, and Harry pushed slowly in.

Indescribable heat and tightness met him, and Harry had to force away the urge to begin thrusting as hard and as fast as possible. Instead he saw Draco nod, to signal he was ready, and began to move slowly, pulling out as far as he dared before pushing back in again. He still didn't really know what he was doing, but he didn't seem to be terrible at this. He reached a hand round to grasp Draco's erection and began to move his hand in time with his thrusts, eliciting moans from the other boy. Then Harry brushed over Draco's prostate again and suddenly Draco stiffened, gasped, then trembled violently as orgasm rushed through him. Harry stared, astounded, as Draco rode it, watching him ejaculate onto his stomach. It was the single most erotic thing Harry has ever witnessed in his life and it drew his own release from him. With a muffled cry and a final thrust he finished inside Draco then slumped boneless on top of him.

Harry withdrew gently and rolled off Draco onto the side of the bed. "Fuck," he muttered.

"Are you okay?" he heard Draco ask. Harry grinned at him.

"Merlin yes. That was incredible. But am I supposed to just want to fall asleep now?" Draco chuckled.

"Yes, sounds normal. Sleep, Harry." And with that Draco rolled onto his side and his eyes fluttered closed. As Harry watched him, his breathing becoming deep and even, he thought this was the most peaceful he'd ever seen someone look.

_And admit it, Harry,_ said the voice inside his head, _you don't want this to be a one-off thing, do you?_ Harry tried to shake the thoughts from his head as sleep, glorious, all-consuming, slumber, claimed him.

* * *

><p>They woke several hours later feeling rested. Harry looked up into Draco's eyes and gave an amused grin. "What's so funny?" Draco asked in response to Harry's smile, as he and Harry lay curled up together, Draco stoking Harry's bare arm. Harry chuckled lightly.<p>

"I was just thinking that in the last seventy-two hours I've broken into a Gringotts vault, escaped on a dragon, cast two of the three Unforgivable Curses, fought a battle, destroyed a couple of Horcruxes, died, defeated a Dark lord, saved a few people's lives, and lost my virginity to my boyhood enemy. It's been a busy three days." Even Draco began to laugh at that.

"Yes, let no one say that Harry potter lives a dull life," said Draco dryly, before leaning forward to kiss Harry once more. Harry's eyes closed at the contact and he lost himself fully in the feel of Draco's lips on his once more.

"So where do we go from here?" Harry asked once the kiss had broken. Draco looked him in the eye.

"Well, first we're going to have sex again. Because that was bloody spectacular. Then we're going to call Kreacher to finally serve us that meal. I'm starving. Then we're going to make a start on this house, because it looks fucking awful. In between all this I will probably throw you down on the nearest surface and snog you silly at various intervals. After my trial we'll see about returning to Hogwarts to get our N.E. and then I guess we'll have to become responsible grown- ups and end up with careers. But whatever happens with me I am going to want you by my side, if you'll have me." Harry smiled, and reached out to Draco's hair, stroking it away from his face.

"I think that can be arranged," he replied, as his hand moved to the back of Draco's head, and pulled him close to his own face, as once more his lips joined with Draco's seamlessly, flawlessly, and as Draco's hand streaked lower towards his groin, Harry thought his healing had finally begun.

~finite~


End file.
